<%@ page contentType="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" language="java" import="java.sql.*" errorPage="" %>
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
<html><!-- InstanceBegin template="/Templates/article_features.dwt.jsp" codeOutsideHTMLIsLocked="false" -->
<head>
<!-- InstanceBeginEditable name="doctitle" -->
<title>Collegian • Features •</title>
<!-- InstanceEndEditable -->
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<!-- InstanceParam name="bannerdate" type="boolean" value="true" -->
<link href="../../../../../stylesheets/collegianstyle.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">
<link href="../../../../../stylesheets/links.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">
<!-- InstanceBeginEditable name="head" --><!-- InstanceEndEditable -->
</head>
<body>
<table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="575">
<!-- fwtable fwsrc="thecollegian.png" fwbase="thecollegian.jpg" fwstyle="Dreamweaver" fwdocid = "742308039" fwnested="0" -->
<tr>
<td colspan="3"><a href="../../../../../default.html"><img name="banner_main" src="../../../../../images/banner/banner_main.jpg" width="575" height="58" border="0" alt="The Collegian"></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="10" valign="top"></td>
<td width="343" valign="bottom"><p class="date"><!-- InstanceBeginEditable name="date" --><a href="default.html">3/5/04• Vol.
128, No. 1</a>8<!-- InstanceEndEditable --></p></td>
<td width="222" valign="top"><a href="../../../../../default.html"><img name="banner_rtcorner" src="../../../../../images/banner/banner_rtcorner.jpg" width="222" height="17" border="0" alt=""></a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<table width="575" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" id="topnav">
<tr>
<td id="topnav"><p><a href="../../../../../default.html">Home</a> <!-- InstanceBeginEditable name="sections" --><jsp:include page="../../../../nav/features.jsp" flush="true" /><!-- InstanceEndEditable --> <a href="../../../../../gallery">Gallery</a> <a href="../../../../../advertise">Advertise</a> <a href="../../../../../archive">Archive</a> <a href="../../../../../aboutus">About
Us</a></p>
</td></tr>
</table>
<table width="575" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="storyText">
<tr align="left" valign="top">
<td>
<table width="150" border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" id="storiesnav">
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top" id="storiesnav"> <a href="default.jsp">Features</a> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top"><!-- InstanceBeginEditable name="sectionheadlines" -->SectionHeadlines
<p><a href="shopping.jsp">Shopping and the single male</a></p>
<p><a href="starsky.jsp">'Starsky & Hutch' is a comic misdemeanor</a></p>
<!-- InstanceEndEditable --></td>
</tr>
</table>
<!-- InstanceBeginEditable name="storybody" -->
<h1><font size="6" face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">Shopping and the
Single Male</font></h1>
<p class="subhead">For the buy-on-the-fly guy, a simple trip to the local
supermarket can become a very daunting task</p>
<p class="byline">By Carrie Alexander, KRT Campus</p>
<table width="100" border="0" align="right" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" class="storyText" id="teasterbox">
<tr>
<td><p><a href="shoppinh.jpg"><img src="shoppinh.jpg" alt="" name="Photo" width="262" height="171" border="2" style=""></a></p>
<p align="justify"> Chris Dugan goes shopping for
groceries on a $50 budget with University of Florida extension
agent Rita R. Law-McCumber, left,
in Casselberry, Florida. </p>
<p class="byline">-Photo courtesy of KRT Campus</p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p> ORLANDO, Fla.—If you peek into Chris Dugan’s refrigerator,
you’re not likely to find much. A jar of salsa, perhaps. Probably
a jug of juice. Strawberry jelly. Eggs. Cheese. And most likely beer.</p>
<p> Refrigerator contents are sparse because Dugan, 23, isn’t one to
slave over a stove every night. He’s more likely to be eating at
the Hooters around the corner, ordering a pizza or assembling a sandwich
in his kitchen.</p>
<p> Call it a life in transition. In early 2002, Dugan was a college student
studying economics while sharing an apartment with three other students.
Not long after graduation, he moved into an apartment in College Park,
Md., with his girlfriend Megan. For months now, he’s been living
in Orlando, on a temporary work assignment, learning to live on his own.</p>
<p> “
It’s a real adjustment to a different kind of lifestyle from being
in the dorm or apartment where everyone eats snack foods all the time,” said
Seminole County, Fla., extension agent Rita Law-McCumber.</p>
<p> Dugan, a management associate for CitiFinancial in Orlando, said adjusting
to life in Orlando means he’s got a bit less playtime on his hands,
a little more money in his pocket and a few new responsibilities, such
as grocery shopping.</p>
<p> In college, he said, he often ate late at night, and the meals usually
consisted of canned stew, pizza, macaroni and cheese, ramen noodles and
similar easy, low-cost foods. “It was four guys in an apartment
and we just sort of scrounged whatever food we could find,” he
said.</p>
<p> When he moved in with his girlfriend, she handled most of the shopping
and meal preparation. Now that he’s on his own in Orlando, he tends
to “scrounge for food” again rather than cook for himself.</p>
<p> We decided to follow Dugan on a recent trip to the market to see how
a single guy spends his grocery money. We took along extension agent
Law-McCumber to see what Dugan is doing right, and to offer him suggestions
on how he could improve his spending habits.</p>
<p> Most of the time, Dugan said, he shops only once a month and spends
about $100. But he’s not looking to buy a month’s worth of meals.
He travels occasionally for his job, rarely eats breakfast and prefers
to dine out for lunch four to five days a week. Sometimes he skips dinner
because his large lunches keep him feeling full through the evening.</p>
<p> Dugan doesn’t bother with a list before he heads off to the supermarket
where he usually shops. “I walk in and pick up some things completely
by the seat of my pants,” he said. “I don’t have a
food budget, I just eat what I eat.”</p>
<p> Law-McCumber isn’t surprised by his approach. “He’s
definitely typical for his age group,” she said.</p>
<p> On this trip, Dugan starts down the juice aisle and picks up a jug
of V-8 Splash. “I drink a lot of juice,” he said.</p>
<p> Law-McCumber said juice is a good, healthful choice, but for a little
extra effort Dugan could save money by buying frozen juice that can
be mixed with water.</p>
<p> Next, Dugan heads to the deli, where he picks up sliced roast beef
and provolone cheese that he can use to make sandwiches. This is a good
idea,
Law-McCumber said, because it’s quick, easy and healthful. Choosing
the deli selections that are on sale is an even better idea.</p>
<p> Then Dugan visits the produce section briefly —long enough to grab
a handful of oranges to snack on and a bag of spinach, which he’ll
use as a bed for canned tuna. Law-McCumber notices that Dugan searches
for the largest oranges in the bin.</p>
<p> When buying fruit by the pound, size doesn’t matter as much, Law-McCumber
says, but when oranges are four for $1, it’s better to grab the
larger fruit as Dugan has done. She suggests that Dugan buy more produce
to snack on—perhaps a bag of washed carrots that won’t require
preparation time. This will keep him from snacking on more expensive
and less healthful foods, she said.</p>
<p> Dugan admits, “I grew up as a meat-and-potato kid,” but said, “Occasionally
I’ll get a salad or something. I’m getting most of my basic
food groups.”</p>
<p> He zigzags through several aisles to pick up two large cans of tuna,
a bottle of Arizona green tea, a half-gallon of milk, a bag of cookies
and a case of beer. Although Dugan might normally buy a few more items,
he isn’t filling his cart on this trip. He doesn’t like to
leave food in his refrigerator to spoil while he’s out of town,
he said.</p>
<p> Law-McCumber notices that several of the items in Dugan’s basket
are on sale. He admits that he watches for sale items as he walks through
the store. “If it’s on sale, that catches my eye,” he
said. “I think, `Well, that will keep me alive for another week.’”</p>
<p> Dugan’s attention to sales is good news to Law-McCumber. “That’s
probably because he studied economics,” she said. She suggests
he might shave a little extra off his budget if he picks up the store’s
sale circular and then makes a list based on his needs and the store’s
discounts. Also, take the time to compare unit prices, she said. Larger
isn’t always cheaper.</p>
<p> Law-McCumber said Dugan also could save time and money by being aware
of the store layout so he can quickly find the items and then head for
the checkout. Shoppers who have to search for products often grab extra
items that aren’t on the list.</p>
<p> One of the biggest budget killers can be dining out instead of preparing
meals at home, Law-McCumber said. Dugan could eat more healthfully
and save money with a few new shopping and cooking habits, she says.</p>
<p> Dugan said he cooks only about once every other week. “It’s
really more preparing a meal than cooking,” he said. “I slop
together whatever I can find.”</p>
<p> In his corporate apartment he has a frying pan, two cooking pots, a
spatula and a large spoon. “It wasn’t really stuff that I could work
with,” he said.</p>
<p> He uses his microwave mostly for popcorn and occasionally for a frozen
Boca Burger, a meatless burger. But otherwise he doesn’t care for
frozen dinners.</p>
<p> Singles aren’t likely to prepare meals for themselves every evening,
Law-McCumber said, but Dugan can learn to fix healthful meals from time
to time.</p>
<p> A tabletop electric grill or an electric skillet could help him prepare
some fun meals, she said. The key is to keep meal strategies simple.
She suggests stir-frying some type of protein, such as chicken with
chopped vegetables from the produce section or the frozen-food section,
and serving
the dish over rice.</p>
<p> Also, Law-McCumber said, if he’s willing to plan, he could put
diced chicken, vegetables, liquid and spices into a slow cooker, and
when he comes home from work, he’ll have ready-to-eat stew or soup.</p>
<p> Dugan said he does make an effort to choose healthful foods even while
he’s on his own in Orlando, but he admits, “I do eat healthier
with my girlfriend. She actually eats vegetables.”</p>
<p> </p>
<!-- InstanceEndEditable --></td>
</tr>
</table>
<table width="575" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" id="footer">
<tr align="center">
<td colspan="2"> </td>
</tr>
<tr align="center">
<td id="footer" colspan="2"><p><a href="javascript:history.go(-1);">Back</a> <a href="../../../../../aboutus/disclaimer.html"> Disclaimer</a> <a href="../../../../../aboutus/policy.html">Policy</a></p>
</td></tr>
</table>
</body>
<!-- InstanceEnd --></html>